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Yesterday, Saturday 13th, in South Australia the Tesla battery at Hornsdale Power Reserve was paid AU$1,000/MWh (USD$790/MWh) to absorb excess electricity from the power grid. The battery owners will later be able to sell this energy also.

The battery has become famous for coming online in under 100 days after an Elon Musk Twitter betand later reacting to a crashed coal plants in milliseconds.

Starting around 12 PM, and continuing until around 4 PM, the battery was paid during at least five separate windows.

More than doubling its investment in EVs in bid to catch up with GM and other major automakers

By Andrew J. Hawkins Jan 15, 2018

Ford Motor Company said Sunday that it would more than double its investment in the production of electric vehicles, promising to spend $11 billion on the technology by 2022. The auto giant will roll out 16 fully electric cars within five years, the first of which would arrive in 2020.

It was a dramatic escalation in Ford’s crosstown rivalry with General Motors, which has seen its stock prices rise thanks to its commitments to both electrification and autonomy. GM has said it plans to roll out at least 20 new electric cars by 2023, a goal that puts it in a position to bring battery-powered driving to the mainstream. Last week, it unveiled a concept autonomous car without steering wheel or pedals.

Nissan announced today that the company has sold and delivered its 300,000th Nissan LEAF globally – the best-selling electric vehicle cumulatively to date.

Nissan Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci commented on the announcement:

“These numbers prove that the Nissan LEAF remains the most advanced car in the world, with the widest reach and the greatest availability. The new Nissan LEAF is the icon of Nissan Intelligent Mobility because it delivers an even more exciting drive and enhanced ownership experience and contributes to a better world. It will take Nissan’s EV leadership even further.”

The new Nissan LEAF is currently being delivered in Japan and is slated for deliveries in January in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It will eventually be sold in more than 60 markets worldwide.

With Tesla’s slower than expected Model 3 production ramp, the electric star of 2017 (in many respects) didn’t shine very brightly on the sales spreadsheet. In fact, it came in just below the Ford Focus Electric on the year-end sales tally.

However, it’s two older siblings — the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X — appear to have led US electric car sales*. Yet again, these numbers demonstrate some of Tesla’s competitive advantages not because they took home gold and silver, but because they actually competed (very well) in their respective classes. Their positions at or near the top of their classes would be like the Chevy Bolt and Nissan LEAF being the top-selling small hatchbacks.

An overwhelming majority of EV buyers are choosing to lease their cars rather than buy them. But why?

Pop quiz, hot shot: You’re at a car dealer looking at this year’s crop of electric cars. You want one, but should you buy or lease?

Buying an electric car is not unlike buying a new phone, in that there’s always a feeling that no matter when you buy in and at what level, something new will come out in a few weeks and make your new toy obsolete. This is why most people shopping for their first EV end up leasing rather than buying, Automotive News reports, citing data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Electric vehicle technology has come a long way in the last four or five years. Ranges have gone up, charge times have gone down and performance is off the charts. Where does this leave the person who bought a Nissan Leaf in 2011 now that something like the Tesla Model 3 is starting to hit the streets? It’s not that big of a deal for the more-money-than-brains crowd, but for regular Joes and Janes, it can be a real barrier to entry.

Sales of electric and hybrid cars in Norway outpaced those running on fossil fuels last year, cementing the country’s position as a global leader in the push to restrict vehicle emissions.

Norway, a major oil exporter, would seem an unlikely champion of newer, cleaner-running vehicles. But the country offers generous incentives that make electric cars cheaper to buy, and provides additional benefits once the vehicles are on the road.

Countries around the world have ramped up their promotion of hybrid and electric cars. As China tries to improve air quality and dominate new vehicle technology, the government there wants one in five cars sold to run on alternative fuels by 2025. France and Britain plan to end the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040.

Norway is ahead of the rest of the world. About 52 percent of the new cars sold in the country last year ran on new forms of fuel, according the data released on Thursday by Norway’s Road Traffic Advisory Board, OFV. The share of diesel cars, which were once considered more environmentally friendly but are now in the spotlight for their noxious emissions, fell sharply.

“This trend will only increase,” Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, OFV’s director, said in a statement. “This is good for both road safety and the environment.”

A Port Coquitlam proposal to require basic electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in new homes could spur more people to make the switch from gas-powered cars, predicts an agency raising awareness about electric vehicles in B.C.

“Access to home charging is one of the key indicators on whether someone chooses to go electric,” said Charlotte Argue, program manager for climate change and air quality for Plug In BC.
Tuesday at 7 p.m., PoCo will hold a public hearing in council chambers on a proposed bylaw that would require developers to rough in electrical infrastructure for a Level 2 EV charging station in parking lots for houses, townhouses and apartment buildings.

Battery costs are plummeting to levels that make EVs a truly disruptive technology, as we’ve explained. That’s why electric vehicle (EV) sales are exploding world-wide, and why Tesla broke every record for pre-sales with its affordable ($35,000), 200+ mile range Model 3 last month.

But what you may not realize is that major EV makers — BMW, GM, Nissan, Toyota — are now exploring how much value their EV battery has for use in the electricity storage market after that battery can no longer meet the strict requirements for powering its car. This potential second life for EV batteries is a clean energy game changer for two reasons:

These used EV batteries hold the promise of much cheaper electricity storage for renewables than is available today.

If used EV batteries have value, then EV makers can charge less for their cars, making them even more affordable

The plug-in hybrid is to hybrid and electric cars what downloads were to CDs and streaming — an awkward transition.

As we mentioned in relation to the new Toyota Prius, the novelty of the hybrid is already on the wane. Low gas prices that are just now creeping over the $2 mark have brought U.S. drivers back to their old, nefarious partner in crime — the SUV.

Those who haven’t gone running back to the gas guzzlers are openly embracing electric. Tesla has long targeted Toyota Prius drivers and will finally get into its price range when the $35,000 Model 3 makes its debut in late 2017. With $7,500 in federal electric vehicle incentives, the Model 3’s price is closer to $27,500 and less than half the cost of Tesla’s Model S at upwards of $70,000. Drivers began reserving them on March 31, but won’t be able to actually drive them until production begins next year. [read more]

Gas is nice and cheap right now, but it’s not going to stay that way forever. That’s why, despite the continuation of strong truck and SUV sales, automakers are still working to add electricity into the mix. Volvo’s just announced a very ambitious goal of selling one million electrified cars by 2025.

Now, “electrified” doesn’t infer that every vehicle will be a full-on, battery-electric cruiser. That term can expand to cover anything from mild hybrids, to plug-ins, to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Hybrids will likely play a huge part of Volvo’s plan, especially since the automaker claims it will eventually offer “at least” two hybrid variants of every car in its lineup.

Volvo also said that it plans on releasing its first battery-electric vehicle in 2019. Between now and then, the company will be unveiling a new range of 40-series cars (e.g., V40, S40), which will have electrified versions alongside battery-packing variants of its 90-series and 60-series vehicles. Considering Volvo already has a plug-in XC90, with a PHEV S90on the way, the group is already starting to ramp up its electrification.

The company’s goals go beyond electric cars. Volvo has also stated that it hopes to achieve “climate neutral operations” by 2025, and it’s hoping that no one will be injured or killed in a new Volvo by 2020. Autonomy will likely play a large part in the latter objective.